OK... ok, look at this list of countries and tell me what they have in common:

• Guatemala
• Belarus
• DR Congo
• Serbia
• Venezuela
• Costa Rica
• Panama
• Luxembourg
• Tunisia
• Zimbabwe
• Cambodia
• Iceland
• Niger

Go on, take a guess.

Nothing?

How about this:

Their entire annual GDP is LESS THAN THE UK'S BUDGET TO BUILD A SINGLE 100 MILES OF TRAIN TRACK.

The track won't be complete until, at BEST, 2039, something that has already been in construction for 5 years.

It's supposed to be a high speed rail, called HS2, with an estimated speed now REDUCED to what can kindly be called not very fast. About 200mph.

Its original budget was 30 billion. It is now 102 billion.

For a shorter line.

Originally it was going to go from Central London, Birmingham, Manchester and branch off to various places.

Now it's going to Birmingham and that's basically it.

Imagine how long it will take to get that money back.

Britain is a joke.

Corruption of the highest order? Probably.

So frickin' annoying. Spain built its entire high speed network for less.